Oxford Floral Hosts Mars Art Show Thursday

Oxford Floral will host a showing of the paintings of Chad Mars with a reception Thursday, Oct. 30 from 5 to 8 p.m. and the paintings on display until 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 31.
“Since it’s a floral shop I will be displaying some pieces from my Flower and Garden series,” Mars says. “There will also be paintings from my new Astronomy series. For the Astronomy paintings, I compress oil paint onto wood to form kaleidoscopic smears. The colors have a stained glass-like translucence, with gradual transitions between light and dark, and hundreds of small rips in the paint that mimic stars. My primary objective as a painter is to create an image that invites the viewer to escape and experience wonder. The darkness of these paintings has a mysterious pull that draws me in, and takes me away.”
Mars is a contemporary painter in Jackson, Mississippi. He earned a BFA with an emphasis in painting from the University of Mississippi. He works in oil and acrylic paint with knives to smear, scrape, and compress paint into rough patterns with dense kaleidoscopic texture. In 2011 he was named one of Jackson’s top rising artists by Portico magazine. His work has been exhibited at museums, group and solo shows, and festivals throughout the south.
— Tad Wilkes, tad.wilkes@hottytoddy.com